Secrets Buried in the Ice

Secrets Buried in the Ice is the second book in the Snowy Alaskan Murder Mystery series. This cozy mystery series takes place in Frosthaven, Alaska and features Maggie Calloway as the amateur sleuth. Maggie moved to Alaska after retiring from her teaching career in Ohio.

In this installment of the series sled dog trainer Sully Sullivan is found dead along a frozen racing trail. Most of the residents of Frosthaven assumed that their brutal winters claimed another soul. However, Maggie noticed that Sully’s perfectly packed gear was unusual. Sully never packed anything very neatly. Also, she feels that the snow near his body had been brushed aside to erase someone's tracks. Maggie believes Sully was murdered.

Maggie has a twenty pound cat named Kodiak who travels everywhere she goes. Kodiak is by Maggie's side as she begins to ask questions around town. She is led into the dog mushing world where there are rivalries between the racers. There is an oncoming blizzard that will erase all the clues unless Maggie can solve this crime ASAP. I think these blizzards will be a part of every book in the series. It just seems natural. The whispers of a deed prohibiting any development near the track in Frosthaven in book 1 becomes clear in book 2. Sully held the deed. 

Maggie's former career as a schoolteacher helped her deal with adversary characters. On almost every page Maggie is thinking back to her classroom and how she dealt with students, other teachers and school administration. She instinctively knew how to handle difficult people. It was fascinating to see how she was able to use her skills in a different setting. There are 2 other smart women in the series. Harriet Miller works at the historical society and she helps Maggie with research. Harriet's help wasn't needed much in book 2. Sarah Jenkins is the new deputy sheriff. Between these three women, they can solve just about any mystery.

The writing is superb. The murder occurs in the first chapter. A villain is introduced in the second. Two motives are revealed in chapters 3 and 4 respectively and the sleuthing begins in chapter five. While the novel is a mere 146 pages, the author has written a crisp, fast paced mystery with eccentric characters that you would probably only find in Alaska. 

Secrets Buried in the Ice is a fun, fast read. Cozy lovers will want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.